Christmas Day
A perfect Christmas scene with the family gathered around a twinkling tree is shattered by an unexpected present. When she opens it, the contents are staggering—a devastating truth that leaves her reeling and threatens to destroy her entire life.
She looks around at her smiling loved ones: her husband, her sister, her mother. She knows one of them must be responsible. As the lies begin to unravel, she is pulled into a deadly game, forced to figure out which family member sent the gift and why, all while desperately trying to protect a dark secret of her own.
- Holly - Richard’s wife
- Richard - Holly's husband
- Arlo - Holly and Richard’s son, 7 months old
- Wendy and Paul - Holly and Cheryl’s parents
- Cheryl - Holly’s sister, Jason’s wife
- Jason - Cheryl’s husband
- Everyone gathers at Wendy and Paul’s house to celebrate Christmas.
- Holly sees Cheryl yelling at Jason and saying "I’ll never forgive you."
- Holly opens a present and finds a pregnancy test, but it’s not hers - the envelope it came with is addressed to Richard.
- After dinner Holly goes to read the envelope in private but it’s gone.
- The person who brought the envelope to the house stole it back to make sure Richard would be the one who reads it.
- Holly steps outside and finds Jason dead.
- Paul admits to Cheryl and Holly that he killed Jason.
- Paul says he killed Jason because he found out what happened in Greece eighteen months earlier.
- In Greece Jason came on to Holly and when she rejected his advances he raped her and threatened to tell Richard it was consensual.
- Holly was terrified no one would believe her.
- Jason had recently become violent toward Cheryl.
- Cheryl snooped on Jason’s phone and found pictures of Holly.
- Cheryl thought the pregnancy test was from Jason. She confronted him and pushed him to the ground.
- Jason hit his head on the stone birdbath.
- Cheryl told Paul what happened and he told her what happened in Greece.
- Epilogue: Paul and Wendy got Jason extremely drunk on ouzo and then took him out in the yard knowing he would die of alcohol poisoning.
- They did it to protect Cheryl from Jason’s abuse.
- Jason was the person behind the pregnancy test and the envelope.
- The pregnancy test was just a fake for dramatic effect to accompany the envelope
- Paul read what was in the envelope; it was a DNA test saying Arlo was Jason’s son.
- Paul decides he will take the secret to his grave.
- The police arrived and Paul was ready to put on a performance but would take the blame if necessary to protect his daughters.
What a great Christmas read! For being a short story, "Christmas Day" packs in a surprising amount of character development and so much tension. You can really feel the friction between the characters, all wrapped up in a very Christmasy atmosphere.
My only small critique was that Holly's motive for keeping her secret felt a bit hard to believe. But honestly, the story was so compelling and well-written that it was easy to just go with it and ignore that one point.
And that TWIST! Loved it. It does leave things on a pretty unresolved ending, which definitely has me thinking long after I finished reading.
Overall, a super great story that I'd definitely recommend for a quick, impactful holiday read.
- Jason - Dead - Killed by Cheryl
- Cheryl - Alive - Relieved to be free of Jason and his abuse
- Paul - Alive - Will do anything to protect his daughters
- Holly - Alive - Terrified Richard will find out Jason assaulted her in Greece
- Rape
- Murder
Publisher: Independently Published
ASIN: B0FY44G5DY
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.Contribute Your Spoils
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